Charlotte Hornets

Hornets get away from what fueled revival, drop Game 1 to Heat

Published Apr. 17, 2016 9:16 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

This wasn't the return to the NBA playoffs that the Hornets envisioned, as the Heat piled up a franchise postseason points total with a 123-91 victory Sunday in Game 1 in Miami. Three thoughts from Charlotte's performance.

1. Still waiting

Only the Warriors and Spurs had a better record than the Hornets after the All-Star break, and given that they split their season series with the Heat 2-2 -- including a road win -- they had every reason to be confident going into the series opener.

The playoffs, as we so often hear, are a different animal and the Heat held an overwhelming edge in experience in that department. Miami boasted 8,343 points in 555 playoff appearances; Charlotte had 237 games and 1,825 points.

Charlotte quickly found itself playing from behind as Miami ripped off a team record 41 points in the first quarter. The loss extended the Hornets' postseason drought to 11 straight games, which is the third longest streak in league history.

Charlotte made serious strides this year, increasing its win total by 15, but it went 18-23 on the road, which tied for the fewest among Eastern Conference playoff teams. Winning away from home has been even more difficult for the Hornets in the playoffs, as they are now 1-9 in road Game 1.

Now, Charlotte is in a position where it is going to have to win at least one in Miami to move on, but it has a difficult task. Twenty times the Heat have taken a 1-0 lead, and they've claimed 16 of those series.

2. Defense out of character

The Hornets finished the regular season ninth in defense, but the 123 points the Heat scored were the most allowed by Charlotte since the Kings scored 128 on Jan. 25. But that was in double overtime and in order to find the last time the Hornets gave up that many points in regulation, you have to go back to Jan. 23 -- of 2015.

Luol Deng's performance had a lot to do with Charlotte dropping the series opener as he scored 31 points on 11 of 13 shooting, and hit all five of his first-quarter shots to help the Hornets to a 19-point lead.

Those 31 points were his highest total since he had 37 on Dec. 2, 2013 when he was with the Bulls. So chances are, Deng isn't going to replicate that performance over the entire series.

The biggest concern -- outside of Dwyane Wade turning back the clock -- is Hasaan Whiteside, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and given Al Jefferson's ability to draw fouls on the Heat big, the expectation is those 23 minutes will be a baseline for the remainder of this sereis.

3. Hornets missing what them so dominant

Ball movement and the 3-pointers were so key for Hornets ... and both were largely missing Sunday.

Kemba Walker had zero assists until midway through the third quarter and had just one overall and he hit only two of five 3-pointers in scoring 19 points.

Those figures were indicative of the Hornets' issues as they had only six assists heading into the fourth quarter and finished with 11. They also shots 35.3 percent from beyond the arc (6 of 17). Those were major dropoffs considering they averaged 21.7 dishes per game and hit 10.6 treys per.

The Hornets simply got away from what brought them back to the playoffs. Expect a return to that brand of basketball to be Clifford's focus heading into Game 2.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 1, 2016.

share

Get more from Charlotte Hornets Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Charlotte Hornets

Miami Heat

National Basketball Association